


Sleeping Beauty

by EarthGirl



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, I haven't read any of the DS9 novels yet, M/M, Spoilers for the novels, but I heard about the ending of Enigma Tales and this happened, discussion of the consent issues in Sleeping Beauty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2020-07-19 06:02:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19969225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EarthGirl/pseuds/EarthGirl
Summary: Garak makes a habit out of reading aloud to Julian, as Dr. Parmak swears that hearing his voice is being beneficial in the doctor's recovery. While making his way through a book of human fairy tales, he stumbles upon one that hits a bit too close to home.





	1. Chapter 1

Garak stopped in front of the door and sighed. No matter how many times he visited, he was never able to make it into the room without taking a moment to prepare himself for the vision of Julian lying on that bed as still and silent as if he were dead. He doubted he’d have the courage to keep coming as often as he did if Parmak didn’t insist that hearing his voice was helping Julian to recover. Garak trusted him and had even seen the scans showing that Julian’s brain activity was improving, but still, seeing him lying there not giving any visible signs of understanding made it hard to believe that his presence really was helping.

True to their usual dynamic, he had been reading books aloud to Julian, alternating between Cardassian novels he’d have wanted to lend to him anyway and Human books he thought Julian might enjoy, or at least find amusement in the idea of Garak reading them. Garak had been bitterly regretting his latest choice, a book of human “fairy tales”, a genre of children stories. He had selected it because Julian had once used the tale of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” to attempt to make a point during one of their discussions, and their disagreement over what the moral of the story truly was had been the source of much enjoyable banter through the years. But with every story he read, his horror of the genre as a whole increased, for even in the rare occasions in which he agreed with the moral, he thought the tales were far too graphic for children. Of course it is important to teach children not to trust strangers, for example, but could humans really think of no way of imparting that lesson other than by having a little girl and her grandmother be devoured alive by a wolf?

(In Cardassia, there was no need for a story teaching that specific lesson. Too much of children’s education was placed on teaching them to not be loyal to anything but the State for it to escape their notice that if other people couldn’t trust them, neither could they trust other people. Although, of course, that would change with the new democratic regime. Garak wondered how the ways to impart moral lessons to the little ones would change over the next few years, and what sort of new tales directed at them would appear and become popular.)

But still, he had made his way through most of the book, and now there was only one story left before he could return to the comfort of his own planet’s literature. Bracing himself, he entered the room and made himself as comfortable as he possibly could on the chair by Julian’s bed.

"Well, my dear, let's see what this book has to offer today... Oh." A brief smile passed his lips. "'Sleeping Beauty.' How apt. Let's see how it starts... Once upon a time there lived a king and queen... My, my, how many of these begin in this fashion, Julian? I'll wager this one finishes with 'and they lived happily ever after' as well. Not that it bothers me, of course, but I can't help feeling that it was a tad hypocritical of you to criticize the repetitive motives of Cardassian literature so harshly. But I digress. Let’s see. There lived a king and queen who, after much trouble, were delivered of a baby girl. The kingdom rejoiced, and a great feast was made to celebrate the princess. And to this feast, seven fairies were invited, and great honors were lavished upon them. They ate out of golden plates and drank out of golden cups, and at the height of the banquet they stood to give the infant their gifts. 'Sweet Aurora,' said the first, 'I grant thee the gift of beauty.' Then the seco..."

Garak's voice trailed off as his eyes ran incredulously through the next paragraph. For a second, he went as far as to hope that Julian was benefiting from the sound of his voice but could not actually understand his words, for he was afraid he had committed a grave mistake. These stories had surprised him many times, often negatively, yes, but due to their popularity on Earth he had still assumed Julian would be fond of them. That might have been extremely foolish, he thought, as he read once again that the second fairy had granted the infant princess wit, the third, grace, and so on. Fairies, so he understood, were mythical creatures of mysterious power who often presented themselves under the form of humanoid women, and who could be either incredibly dangerous or incredibly benevolent. He had understood that "fairy godmothers" were a staple of this particular genre of human literature, and he had quite enjoyed the character of the only one he had encountered this far. If the illustrations were anything to go by, she had good sense in fashion, which is rare enough in creatures from Earth for him to appreciate. He had assumed that any fairies he met in the tales going forward would be like that one, who had limited herself to providing the girl with an outfit and means of transportation that would allow her to get into a palace. That had been helpful, but this...

This was a group of adults remaking the very core of a child’s being so that she would grow up to be what would be most convenient for them.

"My apologies, Doctor. Perhaps this wasn't the best choice. And as it's the last tale in the book, I'm afraid I have nothing else to read today. But it's no matter... We can just talk, can't we? I have much to tell you..."

And he tried to, but he couldn't. Pouring his heart out to Julian while knowing it would take weeks for him to get a reaction was something he had grown used to doing through letters, but with the man lying in front of him, and the reason for the lack of response being what it was, he found that it was too much. The desire to break down and tell him how missed he was, to see any change in his face that indicated that he was still there, was too strong to be fought. His voice began to waver embarrassingly, and he found himself taking cover behind the book again.

"There again, dear Doctor, I AM curious to know how this story will end. I hope you’ll forgive me. Given how many of these tales seem to encourage and reward conformity- which quite surprised me, coming from a species so critical of Cardassia, but there again, you humans do seem just as overly attached to your Federation's protocols, regardless of whether you judge them good or bad, but... Let's not go down this route again. My point is, I do not expect this tale will surprise me, but perhaps it will and the girl will grow up to slay all the fairies? I won't know until I read it, and I would hate to miss out on such an ending. But worry not, I'll skip the part with the gifts. Though I have read it, and if you'll permit me just one comment, considering this baby will grow up to rule a country the second fairy's gift is the only one that makes sense for me. Judging from what the others expect of a queen, I'd say this dates back to the days when Human attitude towards women was borderline Ferengi.

But let's see, where to return to the story... Oh, this is interesting. As the seventh fairy raised her wand, the doors suddenly opened by themselves and an eighth fairy entered the hall. 'What a beautiful party!' Cried she. 'I was surprised to hear of it.' 'Madam, a thousand apologies,' the king cried in terror, 'but no one has heard of you in decades, and we believed...' 'That I was dead?' The anger in her voice was now clear, and all cowered as the queen held her baby protectively. 'And so you thought you would give a banquet in honor of all my sisters, but not make any a single attempt of contacting me?' The royal couple tried to apologize, but the slight had been great indeed, and there was nothing that could be done to assuage her anger.

'Well,' she said, 'as I have come all the way, I couldn't possibly part without offering sweet Aurora a gift of my own. A gift worthy of the treatment her parents have given me.' The court cried in dismay, but the fairy's anger was unstoppable. 'The princess shall grow dear to all that know her, and bring happiness wherever she goes. But upon her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die.' And with that, the eighth fairy vanished, leaving the whole court in despair. Well, this is an interesting twist, Doctor. I admit I am glad I kept reading. I am not certain I understand the nuances of the politics of dealing with fairies, however. When you're awake, you'll have to explain to me whether this fairy was overreacting or the king and queen truly offended her severely enough to explicitly make an enemy out of her. But let's see how the seventh fairy's gift will save the day... 'I cannot fully undo my sister's spell,' said the seventh fairy, 'but I can alter its effects. Aurora shall indeed prick her finger, but she will not die of it. Instead, she will slip into a deep coma, from which only True Love's Kiss will wake her.'"

True Love's Kiss. Garak had heard the expression before, had gathered that some mythology on Earth considered positive emotions, like love and friendship, to possess magical properties, and the kiss of two lovers to be strong enough to break spells. He had not yet read any stories that dealt with the concept, though, and found himself curious to see how it would play out, as it sounded like the sort of overly sweet and optimist notion that would appeal to Julian. Perhaps reading him this story hadn't been an error after all. Looking at his doctor, Garak couldn't help but wonder at the origin at that myth. Could there be some slight hint of truth in it? Would kissing a human feel any different from kissing another Cardassian, or someone from any other species? Was there something in their physiology that made the connection feel that much stronger through a kiss?

And why was he torturing himself with that sort of thought when he did not know if he would ever have a chance to find out?

It would be better to return to the book.

"The fairy's words did not calm the king and the queen. Well, I wouldn't expect them to. Can you imagine hearing that your child's life depends upon them finding True Love before they turn 16? I don't know how the tale will make this sound believable. But I suppose it _is_ aimed at younger children, who wouldn't know how few people have a relationship that could be described as such by their mid-teens. I will attempt to contain my criticism.

The royal couple ordered every spinning wheel on the kingdom to be burned, under penalty of death. Really, now! What of the poor people whose livelihoods depend on the things? Will no one think of the tailors? I swear, Doctor, many of the authority figures in the tales you humans give to your children are positively Cardassian in their attitudes, and considering that they are often portrayed as being in the right, I find myself increasingly surprised at some of the comments I have had to endure over the years from people like Chief O'Brien. Isn't this the sort of story his wife used to read to children at the Station's school?

But back to Aurora. She grew into a lovely young woman, the jewel of the kingdom. And as her 16th birthday approached, her parents grew increasingly nervous, but it seemed to be for naught. Not one spinning wheel had been seen in the kingdom since Aurora's christening, and the party to celebrate her birthday ran without incident. Relieved, the royal couple bade their daughter goodnight. But as she walked alone to her room, she saw an old woman sitting on a corner, working on a strange contraption she had never seen before.

'What is this?'

'A spinning wheel, my child. It is used to spin thread, see?'

'How do I use it?'

And the woman, who I have to assume is either the eighth fairy or an agent of hers, showed her, and she promptly pricked her finger and fell unconscious. She was found, and her grieved parents called upon the seventh fairy, who repeated that only True Love's Kiss could save her. And so, to spare the court the pain of living without Aurora, she cast a spell that plunged them all into a coma from which they would awake only when she did.

Am I supposed to believe that no one built another castle and took over the kingdom while the previous royal family was in coma? And Aurora has had no love interest this far, so I wonder how the spell will be broken. Can her mind travel, perhaps? Will she meet her True Love in their dreams and guide them to the castle? That might be an interesting plot.

To protect the princess and the rest of the court, the seventh fairy then placed a forest of thorns around the castle. Wait, it feels like something is missing... Haven't I seen this scene before? Yes, I remember a human lieutenant who had very particular ideas for what he wanted for her wedding dress... She showed me a drawing of a blonde girl wearing the dress she wanted. I suppose that was Aurora. But as she was looking for the dress, she passed by a page of her illustrated book that featured a young man braving a forest of thorns and a... " Garak hesitated, trying to remember the word. "Dragon. Isn't that correct?"

He ran his eyes through the next paragraphs and sighed. "The dragon seems to be absent from this version. How unfortunate." A smile played on his lips. "The princess would be much safer if there had been a powerful lizard protecting her, wouldn't you agree?

Oh, dear. A hundred years have passed. Aurora's parents will most definitely not get the kingdom back once they wake. A hundred years have passed, and one day a brave young prince came to the kingdom. He saw the mighty forest of thorns and inquired of the locals the meaning of that strange vegetation. No one could tell him, for it had existed in that fashion for as long as they could remember. But the prince persisted, and at last an old man was brought to him, who could remember his grandfather telling him a story about how in the castle in the center of the forest there laid a beautiful enchanted princess, waiting for a prince to wake her with True Love's Kiss. How did they know her true love would be a prince? In this, at least, Doctor, I know we are in agreement. We have talked before of how lamentable it is when fiction restricts a person's possibilities of love due to things as trivial as class or gender. But even allowing for the costumes of the time when I imagine this was written, I cannot see how Aurora and the young man will be able to fall in love while she is asleep. Let’s see... Intrigued by the old man's tale, the prince determinedly braved the thorny bushes, and after many troubles made his way to the entrance of the castle. And he ran inside, his heart beating faster as he searched the rooms, until he found her. Lying on a bed over embroideries of gold and silver, she was the most beautiful maid he had ever seen, and finding himself unable to resi... WHAT?!?"

Garak closed the book in a rage. Of all of the unpleasantries he had seen in these fairy tales so far, this was undoubtedly the worst.

"He kissed her! Just like that, Julian! He invaded a house, found an unconscious girl he'd never seen before, and kissed her without her knowledge or consent! And that worked! THIS is what your species means when you speak of 'True Love's Kiss'? THIS is what you humans mean when you talk of 'fairy tale weddings'?!? This is a story told to _children_? And you believe _we_ are the barbaric ones! We may teach our children to devote themselves to Cardassia, but we would NEVER tell them that it is alright for someone to kiss them without their explicit approval! Let alone romanticize the idea! How can you hum..."

He stopped abruptly. So did his heart. It had been just a second, perhaps less than that. In his place, most would probably convince themselves that they had imagined it. But he was a spy, trained into registering and reading the smallest changes in his target's facial expressions, and he knew what he had seen. For half a second, Julian Bashir had smirked at him.

He had stood during his impassionate speech against the story, but now his knees gave way and he fell on the chair by the bedside again. There was nothing he wouldn't give in that moment to see that smirk again. His lips were tremulous, his eyes threatened to become wet, and his voice was wavering. He was in no fit state to do what he was considering, but now that he knew beyond a doubt that Julian could hear him, he had to try whatever it took to help him out of that coma, and he knew exactly which type of comment would further incite his doctor. Taking a deep breath, he made his voice as firm as he could.

"Oh, you find my indignation amusing, Doctor? Do think you could defend the story? Well, I doubt you could, and I hope you are not expecting me to act on the disgusting nonsense I just forced myself to read for your sake, because I won't. I had gathered from talk at the Station that "True Love's Kiss" was something considered to have magical properties on some of Earth mythology, but _this_ is not what I expected. True Love, if there is such a thing, involves both people being equally aware and emphatic about their feelings, so if you want me to kiss you, you'll have to wake up and tell me that you want me!"

And with that, he gathered the book and walked out of the building, without looking back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I saw DS9, but my best friend watched it recently and as we talked about Garashir we found out about the novels. I haven't had the time to read any of them yet, but when we found out that Enigma Tales ends with Garak reading aloud to a comatose Julian, who begins to respond to his voice, my friend suggested Garak reading Sleeping Beauty and this fic just sort of happened. At 1 am. 
> 
> It's my first fic in this fandom, and I hope it didn't turn out too OOC! A second chapter with a happy ending will follow as soon as I have time to write it. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone, I'm really sorry for the unexpected months long hiatus. I'd expected to post the second chapter about a week after the first, but life happened. I finally managed to complete this, though! I haven't had time to read Enigma Tales yet, but I hope to have gotten the details from Memory Beta right. Sorry again for how long this took, and I hope you like it. :)

It had been three days since his outburst and he still felt awkward when he visited Julian. Of course he had not flattered himself as highly as to expect his words to have an immediate effect (or any effect at all), but how do you start a new conversation after a parting like that? If Julian had been awake Garak would have left the next move entirely on his hands, no matter how long he had to wait. But seeing as that was impossible under present circumstances, he found himself forced to return to Julian’s bedside day after day not having any idea of what the man currently thought of him or even if his presence was still welcome. Julian’s expression had returned to that of a peaceful slumber and since that day he had given no signals of response to any external stimuli.

Yet Garak was certain that Julian could still hear him at least to some extent, and therefore at least part of his next move was clear. Having finished that infernal volume of Earth stories he could now read a Cardassian book to Julian and, given their history, whichever one he picked would inevitably send some sort of message. He had agonized over his private library for hours before making his choice, and he was proud to say that his voice had not trembled in the slightest when he announced to Julian that he thought it was time they tried something new and read together a book that neither of them had read before. 

“One must keep up with the times, Doctor, and I would not be a good Castellan if I did not at least attempt to understand how the war has changed the beliefs of my people, especially the young ones who didn’t have the old ways as firmly fixated in their minds. With that in mind, I’ve acquired this recently released novel that seems to be quite popular with teenagers and young adults. It appears to be the story of a romance between the daughter of an important government official and a servant girl who works in the kitchens at her home. That would have been quite the unthinkable summary in my youth, but I suppose therein lies its appeal. Let us begin…”

And so he had read, taking refuge in the characters’ problems and using their emotions to mask his own. The strategy suited him well for the duration of two visits, but on the third day the book suddenly betrayed him.

“Unease grew within Diale as she went down the final steps. She could usually hear the staff’s chatter midway through the stairs, but today she was met with nothing but silence. Could the house have been invaded? She made sure her own steps were silent and that her grip on her gun was firm before she opened the door.

Screams of surprise greeted her, quickly followed by a metallic gleam. Her brain froze upon the realization that Nyra was about to stab her. Every instinct in her body, every inch of her training, yelled at her to shoot before it was too late, and yet she found herself unable to move a muscle. For half a second she stood paralyzed, believing that she was about to be murdered and that the last thing she’d feel would be anger at herself for having underestimated and nearly actually _trusted_ that unassuming maid. Then Nyra‘s eyes went wide with recognition and she lowered the knife with a sigh of relief.

‘Oh, it’s you, Miss. I’m glad.’

‘What is happening here?’ She demanded, her tone icy and cruel as if that could make up for the infuriating moment in which she’d nearly allowed herself to be slaughtered.

‘Please don’t be angry.’ Nyra slowly backed away a couple of steps and whispered ‘it’s alright, dear. You can come out, we’re still safe.’

Diale stared as a small child crawled from out of the pantry and looked at her with huge, scared eyes.

‘His parents were caught at a subversive meeting,’ Nyra explained. ‘I know they were in the wrong, but the Guls wanted to punish them by hurting them in front of the child. He has nothing to do with his parents’ crimes, surely you can see that, Miss. I couldn’t allow him to pay for something he did not do.’

At the mention of his parents, the boy started to cry and Nyra kneeled in front of him and gently shushed him as she dried his tears with her apron. Her tone was sweet, her eyes were caring, she was unarmed and had her back nearly completely turned to Diale in a display of trust that was so naïve she wouldn’t have believed it if it came from anyone else. Everything about her attitude and demeanor was proof of a shocking level of weakness.

And yet, in that moment she somehow seemed fiercer in Diale’s eyes than she had when she was brandishing that knife.

All her life she had been taught to equal strength to secrecy, to distrust, to self-reliance. All around her, she had proof of all that could be accomplished with that mindset, of the power and the success she could obtain if she continued in that path. She would never deny its validity.

But she could not help realizing that, with all of her training, she would have been unable to save this child. Or, at least, she would have been if she’d been in Nyra’s place, with no powerful connections to call upon. The girl was saving a life using no resources other than ingenuity, kindness, and the absurd level of trust she clearly had in the rest of the kitchen staff and in Diale herself. There was no way in which such a naive plan should work, and yet there the boy stood, perfectly safe, as Nyra was completely right in her belief that Diale wouldn’t turn them in.

Her stomach revolted at the realization of how ready she was to go against her duty. How could soft, constantly smiling Nyra make this look so easy? Could it be that there was strength to be found in some of the things she’d always seen as weaknesses, and that this girl who she had thought to be hopeless might actually be the bravest person she’d ever met?”

Garak’s voice broke and he set down the book, cursing at himself for not having predicted that something like this might happen in a novel aimed at young Cardassians who were breaking free from the same notions he had freed himself of during his exile. Tears were threatening to form behind his eyes, so he closed them and pressed his hands against his face in an attempt to regain his self-control.

Then an unexpected sound made his heart skip a bit. Nervously looking up, he saw that Julian’s face was contorted in discomfort. His head moved, slightly, but enough for Garak to feel himself filled by treacherous, deceptive hope. He tried his best to suffocate it, but life away from the Obsidian Order must really have dulled his training because a tremulous “Julian?” made it out of his mouth before he even noticed it.

Julian calmed at the sound of his name, and after a second or two his eyes opened. Garak gasped and jumped to his bedside. The doctor’s gaze was vacant, but it gradually seemed to focus and it ran confusedly around the room before landing on Garak and fixating tenderly on his eyes.

“Elim?”

Garak grabbed Julian’s hand and his vision got blurred from the tears that were finally running down his face.

“Yes. No, don’t try to get up!” He let go of the hand in favor of gently forcing Julian to stay down by holding his shoulders against the mattress. “You’re in Cardassia, in my home, you’re safe. Parmak has assured me that you’d be alright if you woke up, but still, I trust I don’t have to lecture _you_ on the importance of staying put until you are given permission to leave your bed. Wait here while I call your doctor, I believe he hasn't left for the hospital yet."

It took Julian a moment to absorb the words, but then he nodded and leaned back against his pillow. Garak left the room to get a servant to call Parmak, then returned to the bedside as quickly as he could.

“How are you, Doctor?”

“I have a bit of a headache, but I’m otherwise fine.” Julian blinked and looked around the room. “You said I’m in Cardassia?”

“Yes. You’ve been in a coma for a bit over two years, and your Federation friends kindly agreed that this would be the best place for you to be taken care of.”

Julian didn’t answer, and Garak tried to sound casual when he added,

“Of course, now that you are awake it’s entirely up to you whether or not you’ll stay. If you wish to be transferred, I’m certain that…”

“There is nowhere I’d rather be,” Julian stated firmly. Their gazes met, tenderly, and the doctor extended a hand, which Garak took gently in both of his.

The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Parmak, who introduced himself to Julian without showing any sign of surprise at his and Garak’s joined hands. After giving Julian a quick look over and asking him a few questions, Parmak smiled.

“You are doing very well, Doctor Bashir. We need to run some tests, but it’s looking like you’ll be ready to get out of the bed in about a week. I’ll discuss your situation wiith you in detail later, but I think you should rest a bit for now.”

Julian agreed, and Parmak turned to Garak.

“He should have some regular sleep. Can I suggest you return at around dinner time? I’m sure the two of you have a lot to discuss, but you should both have some rest before engaging in a proper conversation.”

Leaving the room was the last thing Garak wished to do, but he wouldn’t deprive Julian of his rest, and after the stress of the past days it would be smart to take some time to recover before talking to the dear doctor, lest he ended up making even more of a fool of himself. Squeezing Julian’s hand, he promised he’d be back later and went straight to his own room. It would be useless to try to get any work done that day.

His heart beat fast that evening when he opened the door to Julian’s room and found him sitting on the bed with a tray of food in front of him, eyes focused and aware. Upon hearing him entering, Julian looked up at him and smiled.

“Elim.”

“You look well, Doctor.”

“That’s kind of you, but I’ve caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Two years of coma don’t do anything for anyone’s looks.”

“Feeling well enough to fish for compliments, I see. I shouldn’t indulge you, but since you have been ill I’ll admit that it’s nice to see your eyes again. They are most expressive.”

He counted that as a point, as Julian blushed slightly and hesitated before answering.

“You don’t look bad yourself. Being back where you belong and doing work that you enjoy suits you.”

Garak smiled and took his place on the chair by the bed.

“I don’t think anyone ever described a life in politics as being less stressful than months of continuous sleep.”

Julian chuckled and ate a little bit more of his soup before looking at Garak with a much more serious expression.

“What happened to me? And my mission? Dr. Parmak couldn’t tell me.”

Garak sighed.

“My apologies, Julian, I don’t know the details either. All I can tell you is that, apart from your situation, Data doesn’t seem to be concerned. I informed him that you are awake and he was very relieved. I made arrangements for you to talk to him tomorrow, in a secure line, of course, and he’ll answer all your questions then.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Julian said with a sigh of relief. He finished his soup and looked around uncertainly, so Garak took the tray and opened a package he’d brought from his room.

“Speaking of people who will be glad to see you, Doctor…”

A beautiful smile brightened Julian’s face when he saw what Garak was holding.

“Kukalaka!” Laughing incredulously, he reached for the bear and stared tenderly at it for a long moment before hugging it tightly. “I missed you so much, pal.” Still smiling widely, he looked at Garak. “How did _he_ end up in Cardassia?!?”

“There was a political incident,” Garak explained, returning to his chair. “It has been satisfactorily solved, so there is no need to go into details right now. Sufficient to say that the Federation had to get involved and they sent over a Dr. Katherine Pulaski, who I believe you know and who served aboard the Enterprise with Data. She was allowed to visit you, and I found Kukalaka in your room after she left. I must assume one of your friends took a hold of him and asked her to bring him.”

“One more reason for me to speak to Data. I must find out who was behind this and thank them and Dr. Pulaski for their thoughtfulness. And of course, thank _you_ for looking after my belongings.”

“There is no need to mention it, Doctor. It was a pleasure.”

Julian smiled and glanced at the bear again. Something caught his eye and he brought the toy’s arm close to his face. “This stitch… I don’t remember sewing it, and it seems to be fairly recent. Elim, did you…”

“As you may have heard, I am quite a good tailor. It didn’t feel right to have such an important object in my custody and not fix any small tears I could find.”

Julian’s fingers ran over the stitch.

“Kukalaka has been through a lot of surgeries, but this may have been the best executed one. Thank you.”

He smiled at Garak and something seemed to change in the room’s atmosphere. Without breaking eye contact, Julian placed the teddy bear by his side on the mattress and then spoke in an unexpectedly hesitant voice.

“So… Was poor Dr. Pulaski the reason why I needed a dragon guarding me?”

Garak felt his ridges darken in embarrassment.

“In part. I was afraid that she might want to take you to a Federation hospital, but after I allowed her to visit you she seemed to have understood why Lieutenant Dax suggested you were treated here.”

“I don't remember Dr. Pulaski's visit.”

Garak glanced at the floor.

“But you clearly remember _some_ of what happened while you were unconscious.”

“It’s funny. I had never been in a coma that wasn’t telepathically induced before, and my patients’s reports on how it felt varied a lot. Many people don’t remember anything at all about it, but although there are gaps I seem to remember quite a lot.”

Garak could feel his heartbeat increase its rhythm.

“I see.”

“And Elim?”

Julian waited until Garak looked him squarely in the eyes.

“I’d _very_ much like you to kiss me.”

Time seemed to slow as Garak rose from his chair and got even closer to the bed. Julian’s beautiful eyes were large from expectation as Garak leaned over him and gently caressed his cheek. Their eyes close as they both leaned in and, after nearly a decade of buildup, their lips _finally_ met.

Julian’s fragile condition meant that it was a short kiss, nowhere near as passionate as Garak had fantasized their first would be. But in those few seconds of contact, careful as they were, he swore he experienced more tenderness than he had in the rest of his life combined. His head was ringing when they broke apart, smiling, and he tilted his head forward to touch his forehead to Julian’s, not wishing the moment to end. Fearing that the silence might grow awkward, he grasped for words to express how much that moment had meant, but though he was freshly woken from a coma, Julian beat him to it.

“True Love’s Kiss _is_ real, then. Not many people would believe me if I said I discovered that at this stage of my life.”

Garak smiled and sat on the edge of the bed, holding Julian’s hand.

“Would you say this fulfilled the requirements to be considered True Love’s Kiss, then? I’m not as familiar with the concept as you are, but I don’t see many similitudes with the one from the story I read.”

“Thankfully,” laughed Julian. “Technically, the only ‘requirement’ is that it should have some sort of magical effect, and it’s my professional medical opinion that waking someone up from a months long coma definitely counts.”

“Even if it happened _after_ the person woke?”

Julian looked into his eyes, breaking the joking tone for a moment.

“If the thought of it was the push that helped the victim to free themselves from the coma, I would say so.”

Garak could feel his ridges darkening again. Uncertain of how to respond, he sook refuge in a technicality.

“But it seemed that what finally pushed you out of the coma was my reading of a Cardassian novel. Even though it’s a romance, there’s certainly no concept of True Love’s Kiss in it.”

“It wasn’t the story that woke me, it was the sadness in your voice when you were reading a passage that reminded you of us. And that was just the final push I needed, as I have been trying hard to fight the coma since you issued your challenge. It is difficult to explain, but before that moment I had been completely unresponsive. I knew vaguely that I was having some sort of medical problem, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I should do something about it. So yes, you can very much say that I woke up for that kiss.”

“Well,” Garak replied, hoping that he was sounding more suave than he felt, “in this case I should make sure that you’re not left unsatisfied.”

Julian smiled and turned his head so that they could kiss again. When they broke apart, something occurred to Garak.

“So you are saying that you _agree_ with my assessment of Sleeping Beauty? We may be spending too much time together, Doctor. I don’t think we had ever agreed about a story before.”

“Perhaps not, but since we’re talking about a tale from my planet, _you_ are the one who agreed with me. But don’t be vexed. With the amount of stories we share with each other, we were bound to end up agreeing at some point, and I’m glad it was on this one.”

Garak stared inquisitively at him.

“Why? I noticed Aurora’s childhood experiences were similar to yours, of course, but I doubt this is the only story you ever read with a protagonist who has been altered in this manner. Is there anything else that gives this particular tale special meaning?”

Julian sighed and turned his hand to intertwine their fingers.

“Cultural weight, I suppose. On Earth, it is common for children to select a fairy tale princess who they identify with the most. Mine was actually Belle, which is what everyone guesses.” He snorted. “She’s considered to be the intellectual one. But then, when I was fifteen…” He paused, as he always did before speaking of this topic, and Garak caressed his hand soothingly. “A few months after I discovered the truth I had a babysitting job, and while reading to the kid I paid attention to Aurora for the first time. She’s not a popular choice, you see, because as you probably noticed she doesn’t have much of a personality. Through the entire story she’s defined by how others see her and what they want out of her. A perfect heiress, a pawn in the inner wars of the fairies, a beautiful wife… Anything we hear about her as a person comes from the list of ‘gifts’ the fairies gave her, and that’s all the story needs to reach its happy ending.”

“I see,” Garak said simply, for there was no reason to say more. Julian remembered as well as he did the long conversation they’d had on the night the secret had been revealed, when Julian had confessed that he did not feel as a real person, since he had been, as he put it, manufactured according to his parents’ specifications, and Garak had replied that he was much more than that. His parents might have chosen to make him intelligent and agile, but had given no thought to his kindness, had nothing to do with his genuine interest in helping his patients to feel better, and had certainly not ordered his excitement about life, his passion for arguments, his resilience, his lack of awareness in social situations, his endearing attachment to Kukalaka, or any of another thousand details that were vital to who Julian Bashir was. Julian had eventually come to understand that Garak was right, but it had taken some time. Garak could only imagine how deeply that issue must have troubled him at 15.

“I _hated_ how much I could identify with the character who got the most criticism for never doing anything but follow the script previously written for her. Of course, it was just a youthful annoyance that I hadn’t thought of in years. But then when you started reading it and expressing all of _my_ thoughts on the story, criticizing the king for his lack of care for the population, trying to come up with ways in which Aurora might gain agency and make her own decisions on how to handle her childhood curse… If I hadn’t been in love with you yet, that would have done the trick.”

There was no verbal response possible to that, so Garak simply leaned down for yet another kiss. When they separated, Julian leaned against Garak and closed his eyes in satisfaction.

“I can’t believe I’m getting to live a fairy tale moment at my age. And with a spy, at that! Much more exciting than an useless prince.”

Garak laughed and wrapped an arm around him.

“I _could_ be considered a prince of sorts, you know. Speaking of which, I was wondering if there are any fairy tales about a human healer who saves a dragon kingdom by winning the heart of the evil king’s son and ensuring he doesn’t rule the way his father did.”

Julian chuckled.

“No. But there is one about a smart, humble tailor who makes his way in the world via cleverly worded statements about himself that aren’t technically lies, but certainly mask the actual truth.”

Garak gave him a suspicious glance.

“Surely you are joking.”

“I’m not. It’s called ‘The Brave Little Tailor.’ I’ll tell it to you someday.”

“I cannot believe you compared me to the boy who cried wolf and never mentioned there was a fairy tale that actually fit me.”

“They _both_ fit you unnervingly well. And my goal at that point was to try to teach you a lesson, so why would I mention a tale whose moral you were already far too familiar with?”

“My dear doctor, how can one be _too_ familiar with a moral?” Garak asked with a smile. He’d missed this.

“Morals aren’t exempt from the maxim that anything taken to an excessive extreme becomes a vice. But speaking of fairy tale morals…” Julian shifted his position to lean his head more comfortably on Garak’s shoulder. “I like the one you created. If you asked me, these children tales are still overly centered in each planet’s pre-contact history. Kids could use more tales about relationships between different planets. Perhaps we should write this one.”

It would take someone who knew Garak as well as Julian did to detect the hint of nervousness in his voice.

“It might make for an interesting project, but I’m afraid it might take longer than the remainder of your recovery. You are, of course, welcome to stay for as long as you wish, but perhaps you feel you’ve been away from the Federation for too long…”

“That’s a difficult thing to evaluate considering that I wasn’t conscious of the passage of this time. It still feels surreal to know that I have lost two years. I need to speak to my friends and see what has changed during this time, especially where Section 31 is concerned. I may have a duty to fulfill yet.”

“I understand,” Garak replied, truthfully. Julian stared at him, intently, until he returned the gaze.

“If my presence isn’t essential, however, I believe I have earned the right to some rest.”

Garak’s chest was filled with warmth, the kind that he hadn’t known existed before he’d met Julian, and he carefully pulled his doctor in for another kiss. This wasn’t a promise that Julian was going to stay, and even if he did, there would always be the threat of Section 31, of Garak’s political enemies, those who wished to transform Cardassia once again in an imperialistic dictatorship, and several others they could not yet predict.

Still, as he felt Julian’s fingers thread gently through his hair he reflected that this was much closer than he could ever have believed he might one day get to living happily ever after.


End file.
